Date of intake:: 10/23/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender

Previously lived with:: 2 adults

Behavior toward strangers:: Loyal is playful around strangers

Behavior toward children:: Loyal will lunge toward children

Behavior toward dogs:: Loyal will alert bark and lunge at dogs

Behavior toward cats:: No Experience

Resource guarding:: No resource guarding

Bite history:: ACS brought Loyal out of kennel for a walk when he began to kennel fight intensely as they were walking out of the kennel room. Handler kept him on a short leash and pulled him back from the kennels as they were walking past, but at one point Loyal lunged for a kennel and made contact with handler's right knee, biting and then letting go quickly. Handler was able to get him out of the kennel room and he continued to react to dogs in the pop up crates once out of the room. Handler continued the walk without issue and once Loyal was back in kennel discovered the bite to their knee had drawn blood. Handler cleaned their wounds and does not plan on seeking medical attention at this time.

Housetrained:: Partially

Energy level/descriptors:: High Energy

Other Notes:: Behavior concerns: General anxiety (paces, whines, unable to settle), Barks a lot, Anxious when left alone Additional info: Not reported Reacts to on walks: Small animals (squirrels, birds, rats, etc.), Small dogs Reaction type: Lunging Additional info: Not reported How this dog reacts when... - Held/restrained: Isn't bothered - Disturbed while resting/sleeping: Isn't bothered - Startled: Isn't bothered - Pushed/pulled off furniture: Isn't bothered - Paws are touched: Isn't bothered - Collar grabbed/touched: Isn't bothered

Date of assessment:: 12/12/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Moderate Reactivity to humans: Mild Reactivity to dogs: Moderate Leash walking comments: Pulls moderately, attempts to approach people on the street with a loose wiggly body, when seeing dogs is tense and stares at them, does not approach Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Moderately social Call over: Approaches with coaxing Sociability comments: Accepts treats with hard pressure, jumps on handlers throughout assessment Soft handling: Tolerates contact Exuberant handling: Tolerates contact Comments: Distracted by secondary handler Arousal Jog comments: Loose bodied, exuberant Knock Knock comments: Approaches neutral bodied Toy Toy comments: No response

Summary:: 11/11/25: Loyal greets another dog at the gate with a tense body and hard eyes. He is lip licking as the other dog sniffs him through the gate then begins to vocalize.

Summary (4):: 12/26/25: Loyal has been observed to bang on his water bucket while the room is active. 12/20/25: Loyal is initially quiet when handler enters room, begins to stand on hind legs when handler unlocks kennel door with loose body. Loyal is easily leashed with at treat lure. Loyal pulls hard out, looks toward neighboring kennel high-pitch vocalizes. Loyal pulls hard through hallways, is taken to play-yard. Loyal vocalizes and pulls toward an occupied play-yard with tense body. Leash pressure is used to pull Loyal away, enters a play-yard and is kept on leash for this interaction. In play-yard Loyal is highly social, leans in for contact, becomes loose, soft bodied for all petting gentle and exuberant. Loyal lays on side, sits and pushes body into handler's legs when handler sits on bench. Loyal continues to take treats. After some time, Loyal is walked back to kennel and enters as treats are tossed in.

Summary (5):: 12/15/25: Loyal is jumping and pawing with heavy panting at his kennel door as handler approaches. He is able to be distracted with a squeaker and treats to be leashed. He then pulls hard out of kennel and is able to be distracted with a treat trail on the way to the yard. In the yard, he is able to explore around the pen with a neutral body frame. He would constantly approach the handler and would sit to receive treats. He is able to take the treats gently from the handler's hand and would eat them when the handler tossed them on the ground. He would hard stare at dogs passing by the pen, but is able to be redirected with treats. He pulls hard on the way back to his kennel and enters with no issues. 12/12/25 (Late Entry): Loyal is at the front of his kennel as handler approaches, he jumps at the kennel door and barks at handler. He is leashed while distracted with treats and a trail of treats is tossed before Loyal exits leading out to the hall. He exits kennel and follows the treat trail, ignoring the dogs he passes and walking with handler out to the street. Loyal will frequently turn to handler and jump on them or approach and sniff their hand seeking treats. Loyal will sit for treats and ignores dogs passing when offered treats. He walks with handler pulling moderately outside and stopping to sniff spots on the street. He attempts to pull toward some people he passes outside, after a while he is brought back inside and is returned to kennel following a tossed treat. 12/07/25: Loyal is at the front of his kennel as handler approaches, he barks and jumps at the kennel door but is redirected using treats. Handler uses more treats to leash Loyal which he accepts with moderate intensity, he is removed from kennel and attempts to pull toward the dogs in kennel that he passes. From here he is taken to the street for his walk, outside Loyal pulls mildly and is attentive to handler. He frequently looks back and bounces in front of handler seeking treats. He accepts treats tossed to him and passes people without issue, when dogs are passing handler will offer more treats and Loyal will sit and accept them without reacting to the passing dog. Loyal walks with handler for a while and stops to sniff or to relieve himself, after a while he is brought back inside and brought back to kennel. He pulls again toward dogs he passes and returns to kennel following a tossed treat.

Summary (6):: 11/26/25- Loyal is at the front of his kennel with a wiggly body, he barks at handler and jumps on the door then jumps down. Handler uses spray cheese on his kennel door, as he licks at it handler is able to easily leash. When he exits he pulls towards the passing kennels and is is taken for a street walk. He is very social with handler and checks in throughout the walk seeking treats. He occasionally jumps on handler with a soft body, handler scratches his head and neck. When he sees another dog across the street he has a stiff body with a high tail, handler presents treats and Loyal follows handler. They continue to feed treats to keep his focus on them and he follows along. He automatically sits and handler stops walking, he is rewarded. He has a slight pull towards passing people with a neutral body, handler presents treats and he follows. Loyal is easily clipped and when returning pulls towards passing kennels and readily goes back into kennel without further issue. 11/17/25: Loyal is obsvered to be screeching and vocalizing when seeing another dog. This behavior is not able to be redirected. 11/14/25: Loyal is initially quiet, neutral frame as handler approaches, begins to alert bark, stand on hindlegs, panting as kennel door is unlocked. Loyal is easily leashed, upon exiting pulls a hard to occupied kennels, high pitch barking and vocalizing. Loyal is kept on a short leash exiting MACC hallways as Loyal is pulling hard to pop up crates. Loyal pulls to the point of nearly passing out. On sidewalk Loyal's pulling is more moderate, checks in visually when verbally cued but inconsistent. Loyal takes treats gently, allows petting with soft body. Loyal briefly fixates on dogs when re-entering driveway, quickly recovers. When re-entering MACC, Loyal pulls toward occupied kennels and crate with less intensity compared to exiting, enters kennel safely. 11/13/25: Loyal is observed to pull and bark towards the kennels while leaving the room. In addition, Loyal attempts to pull towards pop-up crates and other open rooms when he walks past them. 11/9/25: Loyal is obsvered to be barking and vocalizing loudly while in the back room of medical. Even after the lights are turned off Loyal continues this behavior

Summary (7):: 11/08/25: Loyal is at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is leashed while distracted with a treat and taken to the street for his walk. Loyal accepts gentle pets and walks with handler, he does not pull and attempts to approach people on the street with a loose body. Loyal walks for a bit, stopping to relieve himself and walking a bit more before handler notices Loyal stop for a moment, he is coaxed forward by handler and handler notes Loyal showing slight signs of discomfort when walking, so handler begins bringing Loyal back. He walks with handler and returns to his kennel following tossed treats. 10/30/25: Loyal is at the front of his persistently barking, with dilated eyes and a red face. As handler opens the kennel door, he would begin to jump up onto the bars. Handler then uses a treat for a treat lure, which he was receptive to. He is then removed from the kennel and would have a mild pull ahead of the handler. Loyal is then taken out for a street walk, where he would continue a mild pull on a semi-loose leash. He wouldn't react towards any passing stimuli and would easily relieve himself. Handler has him sit for a treat and he was receptive towards it. Throughout the walk he would remain social with a loose body. He was able to be clipped and returned back to his kennel with no further issues. 10/24/25 (For assessment): Loyal is panting as handler approaches, he begins to high-pitch vocalize as handler unlocks kennel door. He is standing with front paws on kennel door, panting with fast wagging tail, vibrating body. Leash keeps getting caught under Loyal's paw, but eventually is leashed when he finally focuses on the treat offered. Loyal exits with consistent moderate pulling. Loyal forward but neutral bodied on sidewalk, when seeing people tries to approach with wiggly body. Loyal sees a dog, fixates visually, slightly tense body but does not move toward, just stays in place visually fixated. Loyal enters office and is very exuberant with staff, takes treats with high pressure. Please see assessment for more details. After completing assessment Loyal is re-leashed and walked back to kennel without issue. Loyal enters kennel and takes treats offered. 10/23/25: Loyal is obsvered to be persistently vocalizing in a high pitch manner while in kennel.

Date of intake:: 10/23/2025

Summary:: Excited and jumpy, allowed leashing, lunging in a playful manner, carried to kennel after vax

Date of initial:: 10/24/2025

Summary:: loose wiggly body, allows all handling, food motivated, hyperactive and softly mouthy

ENERGY LEVEL:: Loyal is described as active and enthusiastic. He will need daily mental and physical activity to keep him engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct his energy and enthusiasm. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend only force-free, reward-based training techniques for Loyal.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Single-pet home,Recommend no dog parks,Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No Children: Due to Loyals lack of impulse control and mouthiness when accepting treats with hard pressure, we recommend a home with no children. Single Pet Home/ No Dog Parks: Due to the pontital for redirection we recommend a single pet home with no trips to the dog park. Place with a New Hope Partner: Loyal has shown concerning levels of On-leash reactivity toward dogs. Loyal has been observed to pull hard toward dogs, high-pitch vocalize with a tense body. Loyal was also involved in a bite incident, he lunged across a handler toward an occupied handler and his teeth came in contact with the staff member's knee. We recommend placement with an experienced New Hope Partner that can carefully manage his behavior.

Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Separation anxiety,Anxiety,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Basic Manners/Poor Impulse Control: Loyal was observed to jump on handlers frequently throughout his assessment and attempts to jump on members of the public during walks. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Leave it", "Sit/Stay", "Down" are reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach him to control his impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward based training only is recommended. Please see handout on Basic Manners/Poor Impulse Control. Mouthiness/Poor Bite Inhibition: During his assessment Loyal accepted treats with hard pressure and teeth. This is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward (ex. walking away whenever Loyal's teeth make contact with skin). Please see handout on Mouthiness. Bite History (Human): Please see bite history above for more details. Please see handout on Bite History and Potential for Future Aggression. Separation Anxiety/General Anxiety: Loyal's former owners report that he excessively pants, whines and barks, especially when left alone. We recommend that potential adopters feel comfortable with separation anxiety behaviors and prepared to manage and positively modify them should they appear in a home environment. He would do best in a home where a person is at home for a large part of the day or with a plan so he is not alone for long periods of time. We also recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving him other things to focus on to alleviate his anxiety. Positive reinforcement, force-free training only should be used. Please see handout on Generalized Anxiety. Please see handout on Separation Anxiety. On-Leash Reactivity:/Barrier Frustration: Loyal is reported to lunge toward small animals, people and dogs while walking. While in the care center Loyal is observed to bark, vocalize and pull hard towards dogs in the kennel room and dog in pop up crates. During one instance Loyal redirected onto the handler while cage fighting. Loyal may need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach him to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness or head halter to help manage this behavior. Please see handout on On leash Reactivity and Barrier Frustration.